Here’s How to Help a USF Student Stuck in Cuba After an Auto Accident

Lack of health insurance keeps a USF student stuck in Cuba.

Barbara Jimenez, a 22-year-old a student from University of South Florida (USF) will not be able to return home after being injured in an auto accident in Cuba. The taxi she was riding in was hit by a semi-truck. The taxi driver was killed on impact and Barbara was severely injured, along with her boyfriend and family.

At the time of the auto accident, Jimenez had no health insurance. Her family is currently dealing with the medical bills. Due to the medical expenses, air ambulances have rejected her families’ request to transport Barbara from Cuba to the U.S.

Barbara was recently released from intensive care unit and is slowly recovering. She is now able to breath and speak a few words on her own. She is scheduled to graduate in the fall from USF and continue her dream of becoming an attorney. Unfortunately that will have to be put on hold for now.

There is good news; Kathy Castor, a U.S. Representative, is in contact with the family and working on fixing this unjust situation. Barbara used to intern for Kathy and when Kathy heard about the situation she got involved right away to see what she can do to bring her back to the U.S.

You can help too! Barbara is part of a multicultural Greek organization on the USF campus. Her sorority, Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc., has started a GoFundMe to help cover the medical expenses. To Donate go to: http://www.gofundme.com/cjf87sdy

We encourage you to help this USF student stuck in Cuba. Imagine if you were in her situation. Together we can help bring Barbara come home and help her reach her dream of becoming an attorney. We hope you make it back safe Barbara! Keep checking out our John Bales Attorneys blog in the news section for more community stories.